The Foundation: An In-Depth Discussion with Lee Pace, David S Goyer & Laura Birn

1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,000 On this week's episode of Pop Culture Weekly, it's all about Apple TV+'s series The Foundation. Let's go! 2 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:12,000 Welcome to Pop Culture Weekly with Kyle McMahon from I Heart Radio. 3 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:21,000 Your Pop Culture News, Views, Reviews, and Celebrity Interviews on all the movies, TV, music, and pop culture you crave weekly. 4 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:23,000 Here's Kyle McMahon. 5 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:29,000 [Music] 6 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:35,000 And welcome to Pop Culture Weekly with Kyle McMahon. I, of course, am Kyle McMahon. 7 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:48,000 And this week's episode is all about the Apple TV+ series The Foundation, which season 2 dropped Friday. 8 00:00:48,000 --> 00:01:01,000 The first episode of season 2 dropped Friday on Apple TV+ and it is really good. If you noticed by the way, we had a backlog with normally we come out Fridays anyway. 9 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:05,000 I'm here. I let you guys know. It's all good. I love you. 10 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:23,000 So if you are unaware, the series The Foundation is based on the series of literary works, which are considered like the greatest sci-fi literary works of all time by Isaac Asimov, also considered unfilmable. 11 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:47,000 And I think that this series proves that, well, one, it was, in fact, filmable, but two, it actually was, in fact, filmable. They made a great, they found great ways to do it, the writers and producers and directors, you know, of the series are all very, very hugely creative people who found a way to make it filmable. 12 00:01:47,000 --> 00:02:10,000 So The Foundation is basically a saga that covers, you know, a thousand years of The Foundation, which they are a group of exiles who discover that the only way to save the Galactic Empire from destruction is to defy the Galactic Empire. 13 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:28,000 It's really good. It's very thinky. Thinky is that the best way to say it? Very thoughtful. Or no? Thought provoking. There we go. It's very thought provoking. And the acting is amazing. The whole series is really, really great. 14 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:44,000 Season two started, you know, Friday, or depending on where you, when you listen to this, I guess, but season two is being released. And now and season three is actually already filming. So that's awesome. 15 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:58,000 David S. Goyer is kind of the creative mind behind this. So I talk to him today. I talk to the stars Lee Pace and Laura burn. You're unfamiliar with David Goyer, David S. Goyer. 16 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:11,000 He is a writer, director, producer. He's behind such films as The Dark Knight, Man of Steel, Terminator Dark Fate, The Blade Films, Incredible Guy. 17 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:30,000 And Lee Pace, the Emmy nominated Lee Pace, you may know as Thrandol the Elven King in the Hobbit trilogy, one of my favorite trolleges ever. He was also Ronan the Accuser and Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Marvel. And he plays Brother Day. 18 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:50,000 So I also talk to Laura burn who she's finished finish actress who stars as Edo, who is one of the last surviving Androids from the ancient robot wars. So really heavy thought provoking incredible sci-fi stuff. And I'm excited to talk to him. 19 00:03:50,000 --> 00:04:10,000 So let's start out with the one and only David S. Goyer. So first of all, congratulations on this incredible undertaking both literally and figuratively season two continues on with that. And I think takes it even further. 20 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:26,000 What drew you I mean this is one of the you know if not the most beloved sci-fi literature in the world and it's so big and so vast and cover so many things what made you say I want to tackle that. 21 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:45,000 I'm hubris. You know I've had the good fortune of already adapting you know some of the things that I was a fan of whether it be Batman Superman working on Terminator we're going to Darth Vader story things like that. 22 00:04:45,000 --> 00:05:06,000 And I think the foundation was always something that I had admired as a kid famously was considered on adaptable and you know I think it's just the challenge of trying to take on something like that and feeling like even though the source material was written 70 years ago there was still a message that was really vital in there that people needed to hear now more than ever. 23 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:21,000 And it would be boring if I just try to work on things that were easy. They would be boring for the audience. You have to push people you've got to take stories in an unexpected direction. 24 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:32,000 Yeah I think you know as you're saying that occurs to me that that's kind of what great art does I think often is challenges challenges us you know in many different ways. 25 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:52,000 When you're doing something like this you know something as big and vast as the as all of these works how do you determine because as you said you know it was largely considered on adaptable how do you determine what parts are going to adapt and how. 26 00:05:52,000 --> 00:06:12,000 Anytime I'm adapting something I try to sit down whether it's with myself or people I'm collaborating with and I try to say can we identify the core elements that make the source material the source material you know the DNA of it and so early on. 27 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:28,000 I was talking to Robin as a mom I said as most daughter who is sort of the keeper of the estate and I wrote down I don't know a list of ten or twelve things that I thought made foundation foundation and I just said did I get it right. 28 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:33,000 And she said you did so I said okay fine so then we're starting from the same place. 29 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:46,000 We knew we had to adapt it there's tons of stuff in the books that happens complete the empire falls off screen in just you know a single line of dialogue in between books. 30 00:06:46,000 --> 00:07:02,000 You know the first book is just a collection of loosely connected short stories so we knew there was adaptation to be done but we just needed to make sure that we were the we weren't betraying the DNA of the source material the DNA. 31 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:13,000 Of as a mom and fortunately in Robin who is an executive producer is daughter we've got someone that we can constantly sort of get a gut check with. 32 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:31,000 I love that and in many ways it's it's a Bible you know for so many fans over so so much time was that something that adds to pressure is that something you're able to keep out of your mind so you can focus or how does that work for for David. 33 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:51,000 Look it's always a challenge I mean I remember when I was working at batman begins with Chris Nolan and we knew that we wanted to expand the audience for people who would we wanted to bring in fans who weren't particularly fans of Batman would say oh my god I enjoy this movie. 34 00:07:51,000 --> 00:08:20,000 So we had on one hand we had the fans and and we had this sort of those core elements that we needed to stay true to and on the other hand we had the broader audience and so the thing that we always ask ourselves when we're telling these stories is does this particular storyline work if you pull the science fiction out of it does it work if you haven't read the books because it has to for this show to work it's got to appeal to an audience of millions of people around the world. 35 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:35,000 The vast majority of which will have never read the books and do not consider themselves science fiction fans so how do you how do you appeal to both audiences at once and that's the tight rope that you have to walk as a creator. 36 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:43,000 Well I think you did an amazing job I can't wait for everybody to see season two and then I can't wait for beyond thank you so much David. 37 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:45,000 Thank you have a great day. 38 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:46,000 You do. 39 00:08:46,000 --> 00:09:14,000 Thanks David S. Goyer love him and love you know hearing his thoughts on bringing this unfilmable series to become a series so unfilmable work I should say was considered an unfilmable you know literary series that is could never be brought to movies or TV and here we go. 40 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:17,000 Next up. 41 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:35,000 Lee Pace and Laura burn I love both of these guys are such talented actors I love Lee Pace because I love the MCU Marvel Cinematic Universe and I love the Lord of the Rings you know Peter Jackson universe so 42 00:09:35,000 --> 00:10:00,000 Randall the Elven King and Ronin the accuser like what so anyway without further ado Lee Pace and Laura burn first of all thank you both for speaking with me I really appreciate it I love I love the series and season two continues that what is it like for you both as actors to do something that is. 43 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:20,000 This is big both in terms of you know for for sci fi for I think television in general you know it's very ambitious it is one of if not the most beloved sci fi you know literature out there does that way on you as actors at all. 44 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:32,000 Or like winning the lottery then like away on your shoulders I feel like yeah I'm having a blast playing the character I think he's a lot of fun I think he's absolutely nuts. 45 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:49,000 You know I play you know for someone who hasn't not familiar with the show I play the Emperor of the Galaxy I play you know to make it even funnier I play a sequence of cloned emperors of the Galaxy so I'm number 18 so for the past 300 years. 46 00:10:49,000 --> 00:11:05,000 We've been cloned to take on this this absurd role so the character is totally bigger than life and it's it's really fun to play something so big and it is a challenge but. 47 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:24,000 The challenge is like an intellectual one you know it's like a mind the the show is full of these like mind experiments intellectual kind of riddles about what it needs to be a person what where will technology take us will you know I want to. 48 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:52,000 Take your four minutes I'll ramble man I love I love it I you you play you know there's a clone there's an android you know it is there an element of fun to it because it is heavy stuff in my opinion but as an actor is there an element of fun to kind of being this insanely well built out world. 49 00:11:52,000 --> 00:12:04,000 Absolutely yeah yeah we got like we have these like like exquisite sets and we get to sit on these drones pretending to be the emperor of the Galaxy and then we go out to the desert and. 50 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:15,000 In the Canary Islands and you know we've got a whole fleet of imperial warships with us I feel like I'm a robot who's like 25 thousand years old right. 51 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:24,000 You look great for 25 thousand years. 52 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:36,000 It's a lot of fun and I think for us it gets even just more and more fun like our relationship season to it just evolves to this crazier thing yeah it's good I mean it's it's 53 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:54,000 I mean she's well just to get I mean here's the series of of cloned emperors and the one who raises me my mother my advisor is this you know exquisite piece of machinery. 54 00:12:54,000 --> 00:13:21,000 Who teaches them everything they know who kind of who controls their memories who kind of she's the only one bringing them up yeah and in this season I fall in love with her so I've got this you know this sexual relationship with this this incredible being who has raised me so that's 55 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:50,000 one of the fun things we get to play with season two and and like I said it's like we don't try to give you answers we try to ask the questions we kind of there's like this you know chaos in the center of the empire things are falling apart there's a war on the horizon like the time is now like the it's on the turn and the immediacy of that I think is a lot of fun to play. 56 00:13:50,000 --> 00:14:01,000 Absolutely in a very detailed way yeah I absolutely love the series I love both of you and I can't wait for everybody to see season two. 57 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:03,000 Thank you so much. 58 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:07,000 Thank you of course thank you have a great day. 59 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:08,000 You too. 60 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:37,000 Lee Paisen love burn so I you got to watch the foundation it is like I said if you're into sci-fi at all you're already most likely extremely familiar with the literary works of Isaac asmoth in the foundation if you're not this is a great time to jump in season one the full season is already up on Apple TV season two is releasing now 61 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:59,000 and you know now you have some insights into season two and beyond and before before and beyond and now so yes so that is our episode the foundation is on Apple TV plus now and I love you let me know what you think of today's 62 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:28,000 episode let me know what you think of the foundation of sci fi whatever you want to talk about we're going to start including in future episodes some of the voice males and messages and stuff that you leave for me in the show and will respond to him here and maybe yours will get featured so you can use the I heart radio app and use the talk back button which will directly email me your your voice 63 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:39,000 mail and we can do it that way or however you want to do it just find a way you know where I am all right I will see you next week I love you. 64 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:49,000 Thank you for listening to pop culture weekly here all the latest at pop culture weekly dot com 65 00:15:49,000 --> 00:16:00,000 they said it was a film about the foundation on Apple TV plus 66 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:02,000 *BEEP*